Univision Gets Serious About Funny Business, Announces They Are Buying ‘The Onion’
The idea of Spanish language media giant Univision buying The Onion, a website devoted to comedy, might sound like a joke, maybe even the premise of their articles. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. For the New York-based media conglomerate, this is no joke. Earlier today, Univision announced they would be buying a controlling stake in the website with the option to purchase the entirety of the company later if they decide to do so.
NPR‘s David Folkenflik reported the information was not for attribution, but that at least one person who leaked the information was directly involved with the move between the two media outlets. Attempts by NPR to reach spokespersons for all of the involved parties went unanswered. However, it should be noted that a copy of a memo describing the broader terms of the transaction to staffers at The Onion has been obtained by NPR’s news division.
No official statements about percentages or dollar amounts have been released at this time. Informed speculation about The Onion and its affiliate websites place the value of the company at a little less than $200 million, with the controlling share weighing in at around 40 percent. The deal would include not only the flagship site of the company itself, the 20-year-old satire site known as The Onion, but the spin-off sites that are now fully vested media sources in their own right.
Univision Buys Stake In Satire Site The Onion https://t.co/fXmuhghrko
— Variety (@Variety) January 19, 2016
Among Univision’s acquisitions will be the A.V. Club, which was originally a non-satirical section of The Onion devoted to reviews of movies and television shows. The A.V. Club‘s website debuted in 2005. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in 2009, Josh Modell, The A.V. Club‘s editor, stated that the site passed the one million mark for unique visitors in 2007.
Another affiliated site in Univision’s virtual shopping basket is Clickhole, a parody of click-bait-driven outlets like Buzzfeed and Upworthy. The Onion‘s poke at what they see as the shallow nature of online media content was launched in 2014. Described by Slate’s Will Oremus as “an exquisite bit of satire,” the website continues to show promise as a critical and financial winner as their scope broadens to include other forms of online media.
Univision buys up big chunk of The Onion https://t.co/HuuI5tlOkz pic.twitter.com/R8FAPlmdfm
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 19, 2016
Buying The Onion might be just the start of Univision’s plans to expand their share of Spanish language media and general outlets in the U.S. As talk of partnerships with ABC and Disney emerge, news of an inked deal to take over the latter company’s Fusion Network might be the next big development in the company’s timeline.
The nagging question might be why Univision would choose The Onion. Isaac Lee, chief news and digital officer of Univision, explained the significance of the choice to New York Times media reporter, Emily Steel.
“Comedy is playing an expanding role in our culture as a vehicle for audiences to explore, debate and understand the important ideas of our time. It has also proven to be an incredibly engaging format for millennial audiences and is expected to play a key part in the 2016 presidential election process via our robust content offerings in Spanish and English.”
Beyond the cultural footprint is the financial kick of The Onion’s track record for successful branding. Buying The Onion is not just a matter of buying a vital voice in American discourse, but it is also counting coup of a dollars and cents variety. The Onion has logged two great decades online and almost a whole decade before that as a print publication that went from a local college humor magazine to a national publication that attracted a smarter, more sophisticated readership by employing the kind of japes associated with National Lampoon combined with the pointed social commentary of the late 20th century magazine Spy, while shying away from the shock value of the former and the meanness of the latter. The Onion was able to translate the spinoff success they enjoyed with their little sister publication, The A.V. Club, into internet success in the form of advertising revenue and cache as influential voices in their respective arenas.
At first blush, in buying The Onion, it might seem that Univision is looking for something to replace the late, lamented Sabado Gigante. This goes beyond the cheeky idea of clicking on the website one day to find the usual satire replaced by copy from the staff of the newly refitted La Cebolla. Buying The Onion is smart business and a good entrance into mainstream American media.
[photo by David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons]
